


the heart of the ocean

by britishlovers



Category: Larry - Fandom, One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Fluff, Historical Inaccuracy, M/M, More tags will be added as chapters are updated!, Period-Typical Homophobia, Please don't expect this to have accurate titanic representation, Poor Louis, RMS Titanic, Rich Harry, Smut, Titanic AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-16
Updated: 2018-08-16
Packaged: 2019-06-28 12:13:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15707010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/britishlovers/pseuds/britishlovers
Summary: the year is 1911, and harry styles, son of lord desmond and lady anne, has boarded the titanic along with his family. he lives a suffocated life, a hidden life, a life full of secret wishes and hidden dreams. it's all nearly becoming too much for him, the money, the expectations, the lifestyle.. however one day he meets a man who has eyes as blue as the ocean they're sailing on, and soon he finds himself letting go and learning to live, with the help of louis tomlinson.





	the heart of the ocean

**Author's Note:**

> hello hello! here we have a titanic au for you, this is pretty much just self indulgent and so i'm letting you know, there is ALOT of historial inaccuracy, sorry if this bothers you, but i didn't want to spend too much time researching. this is just a load of fiction, so please don't go into this hoping for facts. chapters will be updated whenever i finish writing them!
> 
> i love it when you guys comment, so please do! <3 thank you, i hope you enjoy!

The material of Harry's suit is clinging to his arms, bunching uncomfortably whenever he moves in just the slightest. Sweat is beginning to bead around his hairline and he finds himself raising his hand to rub at his clammy skin more than once. Off to his side, his sister Gemma swats at him whenever he rubs the rich navy blue cashmere across his forehead in an attempt to clear away the perspiration. Harry eyes her in annoyance, his eyes dancing over the thin lilac dress that hugs her figure, the gems hanging loosely around her dainty neck glimmering in the sunlight each time she moves. While Harry can guarantee the article of clothing that his donning his sister's body is no more comfortable than what he's wearing, he's ninety percent sure Gemma isn't sweating as much as him. Especially since she's currently waving a fan infront of her face, the short bursts of air making spirals of her brown hair bounce now and then.

"Stop fidgeting." she mumbles quietly, discreetly adjusting the way the garment hugs her hips. He narrows her eyes at her, fingers clasping around the cuff of his left sleeve, absentmindedly playing with the material.

"'s hot." he answers simply, voice quiet.. Gemma rolls her eyes, but the action is fond and not unwanted from Harry's end. She looks around, moving her head carefully as to not interrupt the way her hair is styled, and Harry watches the large shiny earrings that hang from her ears jingle with each turn of her head. Another huff from his sister causes him to blink his eyes back into focus again, flicking them back up to his sister's face.

"Where on earth did mother and father go?" she whines to herself, sticking her bottom lip out slightly. Harry shrugs softly, not attempting to look for his parents himself. Instead he lets his eyes drop down to where his fingers are latched on to the cuff of his blazer, fingernails scratching at the dark material. It isn't until someone knocks into his shoulder that he's jostled enough to actually look around at his surroundings once more.

The both of them are standing on a dock, the wooden planks beneath their feet particularly well made, aside from a few places where the wood has been chipped away, meaning if you concentrate just hard enough you can just see the blue sliver of the ocean beneath it. It's crowded, and not just a little crowded, very crowded. Everywhere Harry's eyes dance to, he sees people. People dressed in cashmere suits like himself, expensive looking ladies tattling around in their shiny heels, dresses swaying in movement. There are also people who wear no more than ratty t-shirts and pants, the grime covering their faces an obvious tell-tale to what rank they hold in the world. Everyone is moving quickly, people are shouting orders, others are hugging family members farewell, but one thing remains the same in the entirety of the crowd; their eyes are always flicking up to the ship docked to the right of where Harry himself is standing, it's looming figure casting a large shadow onto the water that laps around it's edges.

The RMS Titanic.

It's looming figure unsettles Harry as he looks up at it, his eyes latching on to a few seagulls who caw as they dash and swoop around the ship's edges. He takes a deep breath in as he looks away from it, the air smelling like smog and expensive perfume and cologne.

"I would really love to board," Gemma continues, her voice coming out as a whine. "My shoes are terribly uncomfortable, and this sun is truly unforgiving. Can you see our parents, Harold? Where have they gotten off to!"

"I suppose they've been caught somewhere amongst the crowd, there's got to be dozens of people they know here, I'm sure they're not far away." Harry supplies, sighing softly to himself as he gently kicks the wooden planks with the tip of his boot. The sun catches on it, having been freshly buffed and cleaned this very morning by the families footman.

"Well I do hope they are not long. I thought after our luggage was taken we'd be able to board."

Harry wants to tell her to stop her whining, but instead he bites his lip and diverts his eyes. It's then that he spots his parents making their way over to them from across the dock.

Gemma must notice too, because she lets out a happy sigh, one hand falling to grip her hip as she cocks it out impatiently. "Oh thank goodness."

"I'm so sorry, Darlings. We ran into some old friends and lost track of time. I do suppose you two would like to board now?"

Their mother, Anne, is wearing an elegant green dress with beading around the neckline, much like Gemma's. She has white, silk gloves covering her hands and forearms, and a large white brimmed hat sitting perched elegantly on her head, covering the brown locks that have been curled perfectly. Beside her, their father, Desmond Styles, is wearing a suit much like Harry's, however his is black, it's material shining in the sunlight. His hair is balding, but isn't unnoticeable as a black top hat is perched softly atop his head. The two look rather powerful as they stand beside eachother, even more so with their two neatly dressed children standing before them just as elegantly.  

"Oh yes Mother, please, I am positively boiling."

Anne tuts and smiles at Gemma, while also shooting a warm smile to Harry, who quirks his lips up softly in response, dipping his head. She proceeds to curl her arm around her husbands' and then gestures towards the ramp leading up to the entrance of the ship, where a long queue has formed while people from all ranks wait to have their ticket checked.

"Well, come on then."

-

Across town, Louis is sitting slumped in one of the rickety wooden chairs in the kitchen of his family's small house. They are situated in the outskirts of town, in a small and run down town house that they can barely afford to keep standing. There's cracks in the flooring, and leaks in the roof. A draft can be felt from nearly all rooms, and in many there's a substantial amount of mould that is calling itself home along the walls. His mother, Johanna,  is busy mixing a stew on the oven, but her worried eyes keep on flicking to her eldest son while he feels sorry for himself.

"Louis, I do wish you'd stop beating yourself up about it."

"How am I supposed to Ma? I had a job, a good enough fucking job and I bloody corked it!"

He immediately glances over to where the youngest set of twins, Doris and Ernest, are sitting on the dusty ground, rolling a wooden car between them both whilst babbling non committedly, both are wearing matching knitted yellow jumpers that Johanna had made herself. It's a soft scene, the both of them being the pinnacle of innocence. He's about to apologise for his language, but Jay speaks before he gets a chance to. 

"It's not your fault love, you can try aga-"

"I can try again? Where! There's nowhere to work around here, I'm a fucking lost cause."

This morning, he had been fired from his job at the fish markets after getting into a loud and dramatic verbally abusive fight with a loyal customer. So, maybe Louis has trouble holding his tongue sometimes, but the other guy had deserved it. He'd called him a rat that belongs in the sewers, just because he couldn't afford the nicest looking clothes, had dirt under his fingernails and had greasy hair. Well, maybe it wasn't because of that, maybe it was because Louis flipped him off when he made a comment about how he was wrapping the fish, but still. He's always been a one for dramatics, and so he couldn't just let the old geezer get away with mouthing him off. His little outburst, however, had cost the shop one of their most loyal customers, and since it wasn't Louis' first time getting into a fight with a customer, Jerry, his boss, let him go with a gruff huff and smack to the head. 

"Don't you dare call yourself that Louis! It's not you, it's this place!" Jay says loudly, startling Louis sightly. He glances at her from across the room, running a hand through his unkempt fringe, his fingers getting snagged on a few knots. His heart hurts as he looks at the sullen expression on his mother's face, and instantly wishes that he could take back all his complaining. He knows his Mum tries her hardest, and that she's on her feet all day just so her children can live a somewhat plentiful life. She's a nurse, Johanna, a bloody good one too. She had met her late husband, Mr. Mark Tomlinson, at the small and second class doctor's office where she had first worked. He was a farm hand, visiting the town to buy supplies for the farm where he worked, when he had taken a fall and badly injured his arm. It was Jay who had fixed him up once the doctor had seen to him and it didn't take much, according to the numerous stories Jay told her children, the two had fallen inlove quickly and strongly. They were married only a few months later, and Louis arrived the year after. To begin with, the family had lived in a small cottage situated on the farm where Mark worked. It wasn't much, but it was a roof over their head. Their second child, Charlotte, had come not long after, and it was when Jay was pregnant with Felicite that they knew they couldn't stay in that tiny little cottage anymore. So, Mark put together all his savings, and they had managed to buy a small yet large enough house in town. Louis can't remember much from his day's on the farm, but he can remember summers spent sitting in the long grass of the fields, watching the cows graze, eating freshly made cheese and crackers. Life in the townhouse turned out to be a little different. After Felicite, came Daisy and Phoebe, meaning there was now 6 children and 2 adults living in a barely big enough house, but they couldn't afford anything else. Mark had found work as a fisherman, and worked long hours, sometimes leaving for multiple days at a time. It didn't bring in much money, and soon Johanna found herself having to pick up work as a nurse once more. That's how it stayed for a while, both Jay and Mark working nonstop, relying on their eldest children and neighbours to look after the babies, until one day Mark fell gravely ill and was bed ridden.  Louis was 15 at the time, and already had a part time job delivering the newspapers, but it wasn't enough to support the family. They managed to keep on, but then Mark passed away when Louis was just 16 years old. Everyone of age then had to find a job, anything to bring in money/ Charlotte and Felicite baby sat children around town, Louis picked up odd jobs here and there.. but then Johanna discovered she was pregnant, and 7 months later, Doris and Ernest were born. Through everything, the death of her husband and father of her children, Johanna stayed strong, with only the happiness and health of her children in her mind. 

They barely survived, it was a wonder they did. All kids had to put effort in, no matter how young they were, their innocence was lost as they left school and did anything that would bring in any sort of money. They managed to scrape through, barely, often going days with no food, until Louis and Charlotte were old enough to get jobs that paid proper, Felicite had a steady job going as a baby sitter, Daisy and Phoebe delivered the newspapers around town and Doris and Ernest were now old enough to go to work with Felicite, then Johanna took up her job as a nurse again, and they managed to get back on their feet. But even now, years later, with Louis now 23, it's still difficult, but not as hard. Except now, ofcourse, Louis, being one of the main money makers of the household, has lost his job, again. 

"This place is the problem Louis, I've known since you were born that you were destined to do great things, Boo. This place isn't built for you, you deserve so much more." 

He's about to argue with her, but the door to their little house is thrown open and a wind flushed Zayn appears in the doorway. Everyone in the household jumps as the door hits the wall loudly and the bang echoes through the rooms, even the twins sitting on the floor, but Zayn pays them no attention. 

"Z?" Louis begins, raising an eyebrow as Zayn walks into the kitchen, breathing harshly, a hand on his chest. He puts his hands on his knees and bends over, gulping for air. Zayn's been Louis' best friend for as long as he can remember, they had went to preschool with each other, and then found jobs with each other, and to this day still did nearly everything together. Zayn is like a brother to Louis, having not grown up with a real one. He's family, Johanna treats him like a son, which is why no one even bats an eye as Zayn enters the household without permission.

Louis shares a look with his mother, and is about to question his best friend when they're joined by the rest of the family. Daisy and Phoebe step over the babies carefully and head over to their mother, eyeing Zayn warily. Both are wearing sun dresses that are more dirty and ill-fitting than the dresses other girls wear their age, but their hair is braided and both are holding handmade dolls in their hands.

"We heard a bang.." Phoebe begins, and Jay stops stirring the brew on the stove to place a comforting hand on her daughter's shoulder, fingers digging into the material softly. 

"It was just the door, lovies." she begins, as two more girls enter the kitchen. Charlotte, the eldest girl, looks at Zayn with her eyebrows raised. Her hair is in a high pony tail, having out grown her braid stage, and she too has a sun dress on, one that looks a little more upkept due to Charlotte's picky behaviour. Behind her, their younger sister Felicite peaks out, messy hair piled onto her head in a bun. 

"Goodness Zayn, you wrangled the whole crowd. Whatever is the matter?" 

Zayn has seemed to gain back enough air into his lungs, so he stands up, running a hand through his raven black hair, eyes wide and looking around at the family excitedly. 

"I-" he pants, shaking his head in bewilderment. His hands goes into the pockets of his slacks and pulls out what seems to be a few pieces of paper. 

"What is it?" Louis asks curiously, slowly standing up as curiosity gets the better of him. He eyes whatever Zayn holds in his dirty hands. The other boy works in a factory in town, and is often always covered in a layer of grime and grease, today is no different. But this time, he's wearing a blinding smile too, something that Louis doesn't see often, and so it causes a nervous feeling to flutter through his stomach. 

"Zayn?"

Louis saying his name is what seems to make Zayn snap back into the present, and he raises his hand holding the mysterious pieces of paper into the air, as if holding a trophy after winning a championship. 

"Louis Tomlinson, I got us tickets to the bloody Titanic!!"

It's silent for a few beats, the only sound that can be heard being the cherubic laugher of the youngest twins and Zayn's still heaving breathing, but then Louis laughs, loud, and shakes his head, his hair spiralling around his face. Even Johanna snorts and rolls her eyes fondly, going back to stirring the content in her pot. The other boy furrows his eyebrows as he looks back and forth between Louis and Johanna, shoulders slumping as he realises none of them must believe him.

"What the hell are you all laughing for?" It comes out as an annoyed huff, his nose crinkling slightly.

"Really Z, you expect me to believe you got us tickets onto the biggest bloody ship in the world?" he says, rolling his eyes as he steps up to his best friend. His joints crack with the movement, and as he gets into the other boy's personal space he realises Zayn smells like oil, but Louis smells like fish, so together they must smell putrid. However no one says anything, much too used to the ghastly smells to even crinkle their noses anymore. 

"Gimme that, what is this? Probably some paper you found in the garbage, right?" He snatches the papers from Zayn's hand, making the other boy cry out loudly. Louis raises his eyebrows at him, looking at him strangely. He's used to Zayn's pranks and antics, they had grown up playing pranks on each other in the dark and grizzly streets of town, but the other boy actually looks worried as Louis grips the papers roughly in his calloused hands. 

"Jesus Louis, be careful, please!" Zayn begs, and Louis actually finds his heart rate picking up slightly as he raises his hands and glances down at what he's holding. 

And fucking hell. It is Titanic Tickets. 

"What the fuck, Zayn?" Louis gasps, earning a "language!" to come from not only his mother, but his sisters as well. His mouth hangs open as he looks down at the two slightly crumpled third-class titanic tickets he's holding in his hands.

"W-what? H-how?" 

Johanna looks up from her stew curiously as Louis barely manages to get his words out, and raises her eyebrows as he sees the shell-shocked look on his face. She too has grown used to the boy’s pranks and jokes, but she’s never seen that expression on Louis’ face before, it makes her narrow her eyes curiously as she gently puts down the spoon and leaves the oven.

"Boo?" she asks gently as she rounds the table and approaches the two boys, the floor creaking beneath her feet. Zayn is grinning like a mad man as she gets closer, and Louis is looking down at his hands in shock, barely believing what he is currently holding in his hands. Oh, how he has dreamed of the Titanic. Ever since the great ship was announced, his dreams were full of foggy scenes of him watching the waves crash against it’s edge, of meeting people from near and far, of seeing new places, eating new food, living. But every time he woke up back in his creaky single bed, the rugs barely thick enough to keep him warm, and as he got on with his day, any childish dreams of the Titanic were washed away. Except now, here he is, holding bloody third class tickets. 

"He's not bloody lying, Mum!" Louis says loudly, spinning around to face her. He shoves the tickets into her face, making her scowl as she knocks his hand away, but grabs the tickets herself, her eyes widening as she looks down and reads it, stray pieces of hair falling into her face. 

"Oh my goodness.." she gasps, looking up at Zayn with the same expression Louis is wearing. "How?" She knows, everyone knows, that even third-class tickets cost a fortune, much more than any one of their families can afford.

"It doesn't matter how, all it matters is that I have. And it leaves in only a few bloody minutes so you better go and pack, Lewis!" 

Louis shakes his head in disbelief, a grin pulling at his lips, but it melts away as he turns to look at his mother, who is looking down at the tickets with a soft frown. The excitement that was beginning to grow in his stomach disappears, and he sighs harshly, reality crashing back in and drowning the small flicker of hope that had ignited in his chest for a second.

"I can't, Zayn."

Zayn's mouth drops open, his eyes widening. Louis doesn’t look at him, his eyes falling to the dust covered floor instead, fringe dusting his forehead.

"What do you mean you can't! These are tickets to the bloody Titanic Lou, the biggest ship in the world, heading to New York City! America! I got them for us, for the both of us!" 

Louis swallows harshly and shakes his head, eyebrow creasing together. His words come out forced and resigned. "There's too much to do here, I can't leave, I-"

"Of course you can bloody leave, and leave you will." Johanna says loudly, making Louis' head snap back to her, his eyes wide. She’s looking back at him with a fire in her eyes, and Louis feels that small flicker of hope beginning to light once more. Before he even gets to open his mouth, Jay is shoving the tickets back into Louis' hands and she then places her own on her hips, looking at him with her strong, passionate eyes. 

"Louis Tomlinson, you have slaved away at these soul sucking jobs since you were barely a teenager, helping to keep this family going. You've given up more than a man your age ever should have, and now I swear to god if you don't take pack your bag and take that ticket, I'll smack your bum with a wooden spoon just like I used to!"

Louis’ eyes grow wider, and Zayn bursts out laughing, shaking his head in wonder. Louis fiddles with one of his suspenders that has fallen off his shoulder, never blinking as he looks back at his mother. Could she really mean it? It’s true, Louis hasn’t lived much of a life in his twenty so years, it has consisted of working, then giving the money to his mother, then working some more. But it’s what he knows, and he bloody loves his family, would fly to the moon and back for them.

"Mum, I can't leave you guys, I-"

"Yes you can Louis! We're fine, we will be fine, we always have!"

"Mum, seriously, I can't-"

"This is New York, Louis! This is the Titanic! A once in a lifetime experience, and if you think I'm going to let you, my eldest son, miss out on something like this just because you're worried about your old Ma?  No, there's no way. There's a million experiences out there waiting for you honey, who knows what you will find. Maybe you lost your job this morning for a reason sweetie, God has a plan for you, I know it. And I know you want to argue, and bless you, I love you for it. You've always had this family's best interests at heart, but now it's time for you to have your best interests at heart. Go out there, find adventure, find the world, maybe, god forbid, find  _love._ Find your life! You've earnt it, we will be fine here on our own for a bit, won't we guys?" She looks back at the younger children with teary eyes, and they all nod their heads, even the youngest two, who don't really have any idea on what's going on. Louis turns his head slowly to look at them, his heart pounding in his chest, the flicker of hope slowly igniting into a fire. Charlotte is smiling widely back at him, her eyes gleaming mischievously. They had always been the closest, only being just over a year apart in age. 

"It's about time I get to be the oldest kid in the house, let me have the spot light for a bit, yeah?"

Louis' gulps and blinks back a few tears, a watery smile pulling at his lips. When Jay turns back to face him, he lunges forwards, wrapping his arms around her tightly. The familiar smell of her comforts him immediately, and he squeezes her tighter as her own arms come to wrap around him. 

"I'm going to get you guys out of here, okay? You better believe me, I'm going out there and I'm going to find work that pays more than any dingey place in this town ever could, and I'm going to get you all out of here and somewhere you deserve. I promise, Mumma." 

Jay feels a few tears let loose and she hugs her son tighter, squeezing his slightly too skinny body tightly, nodding into his shoulder. She snuffles into his shoulder, making Louis laugh wetly into hers. He hasn’t known anything else, he’s never left his family for more than a day before. The thought of it, is scary he’ll admit, but also exciting, new. Zayn stands behind them all awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck while glancing at the old watch wrapped around his wrist. 

"Um, sorry to interrupt this beautiful moment, but the Titanic is set to leave in about 5 minutes so we really need to get going.." 

Louis sniffs and nods his head, pulling back to look into his Mum's eyes. She's still beautiful, even if there are a few wrinkles and stress lines marking her face. Her eyes are warm, and Louis knows he'd do anything to make sure she is given everything she deserves in life, after having given up so much just to keep her children happy. 

"Are you sure, Ma?" he asks once more. She seems to hesitate for only a second, as if the idea of letting her eldest son fly from the nest is nearly too much to bear, but then she nods, taking in a deep breath. 

"Yes, I'm sure, go, quick, pack!" 

Louis shakes his head and leans forward to kiss her on the cheek, nose pressing into the soft skin there. When he pulls back, he looks into her eyes once more.

“Thank you,” he says honestly, the words coming straight from his heart. Jay grins, even though her eyes are watery and there are a few tears starting to slip down her cheeks. Then she pulls away from him and hits him on the shoulder, making him startle into action.

“Right, pack, right, ah!”

He shoves the tickets into Zayn’s hands and then stumbles backwards before leaping away, soaring over the twins playing on the floor and hurtling through their small house until he gets to his room. He doesn’t own much at all, if anything really, but he grabs the one scrappy duffle bag he owns, the one that’s scuffed with loose threads peeling at the edges, and tosses it onto his bed. Then he becomes a hurricane as he rips through his room, grabbing anything he thinks he needs. He puts a variety of shirts in there, pants, underwear. He grabs his cap, and a few pairs of socks. The only shoes he owns are the pair of worn brown boots on his feet, but he double checks that he’s actually wearing them just in case. And then he looks at the one shelf that’s on his wall, the shelf that has fallen down more times than once, and is now placed steady on the wall with an abundance of nails.

There’s a picture of his family on there, one of the few pictures of them all together, minus his father. However stuck on the back of it, is a single picture of Mark Tomlinson when he was younger, and oh how he looks just like Louis. He grabs it and looks down at it wistfully, his eyes growing misty. He brings it up to his face and kisses it gently, before placing it into his bag softly. He also grabs the glasses he sometimes needs to wear and shoves them into the bag, and then he hastily shuts it, slinging the bag over his shoulder. He casts one last look around his room, before he turns and leaves it, jogging back through the house until he reaches the kitchen once more.

First, he bends over and kisses both Doris and Ernest on their heads, breathing in their smell, telling them to be good and that he’s going to miss them.

“Bye, Achoo!” they both say, even though they don’t really know where he’s off to. The nickname nicks at Louis’ heart, and he tears himself away from them before he lets himself get emotional. Then he soars forward and wraps both Daisy and Phoebe into his arms, lifting them off the ground. They both let out squeals of delight, their girlish laugher making the room feel lighter.

“I’m gonna miss you bugs, be good for Ma okay?” he says, placing a big sloppy kiss on each of their foreheads. They both let out an “ewwww”, but still hug their big brother back anyway. Then Louis turns and hugs Felicite, the shy and soft spoken girl who Louis has a special place in his heart for. He turns his face into her hair and leaves a soft kiss there, pulling her against him tightly. When he pulls back, she blinks up at him with teary eyes.

“Hey Lou, can you bring me back a surprise?” she asks softly, and Louis can’t help but smile softly.

“’Course I can Fizz, what do you want?”

“How about a prince, or a lord or something for me, since there’s gonna be rich folk on that boat right?” Charlotte answers for him, and it makes Louis laugh, with a glance at his sister who’s looking down at him coyly.

“I would really like a new book to read..” Felicite answers softly, and Louis nods easily, kissing her forehead once more.

“New book it is, Fizz.” He says while he pulls back, making the younger girl smile at him. And then he stands up straight and approaches Charlotte, who raises an eyebrow at him. For a second, Louis thinks she’s about to object hugging him, but then she opens her arms and pulls him against her.

“Gonna miss ya Boo,” Charlotte says into his hair as Louis wraps his arms tightly around her.

“’m gonna miss ya too, Lots. Take care of everyone, kay? I’m counting on ya. And maybe I’ll bring you back a lord or something, if you do good.”

It makes Lottie laugh, and Louis joins in as he pulls back. He looks around at the children once more before he sighs and nods his head, stepping back and turning around, coming face to face with his mother.

“You look after yourself out there, Louis,” she says as she opens her arms once more, Louis falling into them easily.

“Course I will Ma, you look after yourself here too, okay? I’ll be back, I promise ya.”

Jay nods her head, and places a kiss into Louis’ hair.

“I’m proud of you boo, and so so thankful that I have such an amazing man as my son. I love you, now go, before you make Mummy cry even more!”

Louis laughs wetly but he follows her directions and pulls back, kissing her wet cheek once more. Then he walks backwards until he’s standing beside Zayn, who’s tapping his foot anxiously, gnawing on his lip.

He looks around at his family once more, his heart full and slightly sorrowful as he begins to back out of the house.

“I love you all so much!” he calls once he gets out the door, blowing a kiss to them all.

“Bye Louis!” they all call, and then Zayn follows him out and pulls the door shut. It’s only now that Louis notices the bag he too as slung over his shoulder. He pats Louis’ shoulder roughly, and then grabs it, spinning Louis around and then breaking out into a run. Louis laughs as he begins after him, soon matching pace.

“Where did you get the bloody tickets from, Z!” he calls as they race through the alleyways of their town, knocking into many people as they go, not bothering to apologise. Zayn shoots him a wink, hair spiralling around his head crazily as the wind rushes through it.

Louis laughs loudly and shoves him, making the boy stumble a few paces.

“Jesus, okay! I stole them, a’right? Which is why we better get there quick, before the guy finds me and eats me alive.”

Louis’ eyes widen and he’s so distracted that he nearly trips over a pothole, but manages to correct himself in time.

“You bloody stole ‘em!” Louis shouts, unsure how he feels about the tickets now that he knows it’s not fairly theirs.

“Yes I did, nicked them right out of the pocket of this bludger who was throwing abuse at a lady down the street. Don’t think a geezer like that deserves them, ya know?”

Louis swallows hesitantly but nods slowly. He’s about to question Zayn once more, but then there footsteps are slowing down as they thunder against the wooden panels of the dock. The RMS Titanic is sitting there elegantly, it’s looming figure making anything big Louis has ever seen look tiny. The people look like ants as they shuffle up the boarding ramp, and Louis looks around with wide eyes at the number of people jostling around on the dock, the majority wearing gowns and suits Louis has ever only see in his dreams.

“Bloody hell!” he says, making his bestfriend laugh as he grabs his arm and steers him towards the right direction. It feels like his heart is in his throat as he approaches the ship, however it doesn’t just feel like he’s approaching a ship. It feels like he’s approaching a whole new beginning, like he once he steps foot onto it’s deck, his life is about to change forever.

He can’t wait.


End file.
